Heartbroken mum who lost her four-day-old baby has her wedding dress made into burial gowns for other tragic tots

Johanne Lickers was traumatised to see other babies wearing the shop-bought dress she buried her daughter in

By Alison Maloney

28th July 2017,9:01 am

Updated: 28th July 2017,9:34 am

A HEARTBROKEN mum whose baby girl died at four days old has made her wedding dress into unique burial gowns for other tragic tots.

Johanne Lickers, 37, was devastated when her daughter, Teagan, passed away soon after being diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Patau’s syndrome, which meant the infant had an additional copy of chromosome 13 in every cell.

After choosing a pretty pink dress and hat for her baby to be buried in, she was traumatised to see other babies wearing the same outfit.

She said: “After, I’d see little girls in the same dress and hat as it was a very popular design. It would absolutely devastate me.”

As a result, Johanne wanted to spare other grieving parents the pain she had felt, so she donated her £600 wedding dress from a local boutique to charity Cherished Gowns for Angel Babies, who turned it into several unique burial outfits.

Slimming World consultant and marketing manager Johanne, who is currently on maternity leave after having son Jackson, 11 months, said: “I heard about Cherished Gowns through a friend and thought it was an amazing idea.

“It’s a way for these parents to have something unique. Wedding dresses are worn with love in mind, so it’s very fitting for them to go on to make something else to be loved and cherished.”

Johanne, also mum to Shannon, 19, from a previous relationship, and Maddision, five, wore a strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline when she married her personal trainer husband Dave Lickers, 31, in March 2010.

Dave and Johanne holding Teagan in the chapel at Martin House Children’s Hospice, in November 2014

“Dave and I talked things over and agreed we just had to try again. Back home, though, I felt jealous of everyone I saw with a baby bump or pushing a pram. I was so desperate to start a family with Dave.”

Six months later, Johanne fell pregnant again and this time, little Maddision arrived safely into the world in August 2011.

Johanne added: “We were over the moon to hold her for the first time.”

Keen to give the girls a sibling, Johanne discovered she was expecting again in March 2014.

Following a straightforward pregnancy, she was looking forward to a home birth.

From there, the family had Teagan moved to Martin’s House Children’s Hospice, to live out her final days.

After she passed, they were able to keep her body in a special cold room, laid out like a child’s bedroom, to give them time to say goodbye.

“We stayed with her right up until her funeral. We could go into the room at any time and it was comforting to know she wouldn’t be locked away anywhere. It helped us grieve,” said Johanne.

She continued: “She only had baby clothes, but I knew I wanted her in a dress, so I went out shopping one day. It was hard knowing I was buying something to cremate her in, so I kept trying to think I was just a mummy getting something pretty for my girl.